Immigrant advocacy groups are intensifying their efforts to hold the Border Patrol accountable for the deaths of migrants on the Arizona side of the border. This week, the first part of a report was released outlining an increase in what the group calls, “deadly apprehension methods.”
Sophie Smith from the border human rights group No More Deaths calls it “chase and scatter.”
“Those who encounter agents are more likely to flee into the wilderness, not only to evade apprehension, but to escape violence at the hands of their pursuers.”
At a news conference this week at the border in Nogales, immigration advocates called that Border Patrol tactic a big contributor to the number of people reported missing. The Coalición de Derechos Humanos estimates that there could be as many as 2,500 border crossers who died in the desert and have not been found.
Border Patrol responded with a statement saying, “Drug and human smugglers are primarily responsible for the deaths.” The statement says such enforcement tactics are needed to keep agents safe.
Last week, Border Patrol chief Mark Morgan told a congressional committee there is no more dangerous job in law enforcement.
“They are the most assaulted federal law enforcement in the United States. More than 7,400 Border Patrol agents have been assaulted since 2006.”
Immigrant advocacy groups dismiss the figure, saying the cost of securing the border is the remains of more than 4,000 people found in that same time.
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